This invention relates generally to building construction. More specifically the invention relates to systems and methods of supporting floors and roofs of buildings.
In some methods of constructing buildings, floors and roofs may be created and/or located in their final position after construction of a central structure. These floors and roofs must be supported in some manner so as to provide stability for activity to occur on the floor or roof during and after construction. Typical construction methods, especially for high-rise buildings, support each floor from the ground upwards.
Often a great number of vertical structural members, columns for example, provide such support, and extend throughout the height of the building. The weight of these vertical structural members must be supported by the vertical structural members below them, compounding design factors at lower levels of the building. Additionally, valuable floor space on each floor may be lost, or at least become unusable, because of the protrusion of each vertical structural member. Embodiments of the present invention provide solutions to this and other problems.